The sport of snowmobiling is built upon the unbridled passion and tireless efforts of club and association members. Donald Finck is one such person, having served as President, Director and Trail Master in the Vermont Association Snow Travelers (VAST), as well as introducing innovative snowmobiling services and programs in the association. Finck, now of Carson, Wash., also founded the successful and venerable Rock Maple Racing Circuit in Vermont.

An eternal optimist, Finck saw opportunities for improvement at all levels of the sport and was the first to roll up his sleeves and lead by example. He’s pursued every opportunity with unrelenting passion while always embracing the power of partnerships. His leadership helped spearhead the Vermont Trail Pass Maintenance Assessment program, fuel tax funding for VAST and reciprocity on issues of connecting trails in New England. A natural promoter, Finck also helped launch the successful Snofest event in Lake Morey, Ver., while plying every opportunity big or small to increase the exposure of snowmobiling throughout New England.

Inspired and supported by his close family, Finck’s vision propelled both the success and safety of the Rock Maple Circuit, recruiting racers with the same passion that he brought to his years as an Elementary School principal, snowmobile dealership owner, district sales manager for Arctic Cat and innumerable other roles. In a sport that’s prospered because tremendous selfless efforts, Donald Finck has pursued every opportunity with an extraordinary passion and a can-do attitude.

A fantastic fabricator and passionate pursuer of speed, Paul Groth of Frontenac, Minn., was a driving force in snowmobile speed run competition during its second heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s. Groth built three iterations of the Budweiser Sno-King speed machines, set multiple NSSR World Speed Run records, recorded a 201.469 mph run in 1992 and helped progress the sport’s safety with a degree of professionalism that defined his success.

Groth brought the Boss Cat II back to life in 1983, and was a chief protagonist among the competitive personalities, fantastic machines and outstanding speeds of the 1980s speed run era. In 1987 Groth built and tuned the fastest snowmobile in the world – the Budweiser Sno-King – which ran 168.093 mph in a quarter-mile. Groth himself broke the magical 200-mph barrier in 1992 during an exhibition run in the Bud Sno-King II. And when speed run rules changed to allow only snowmobile engine power in 1993, Groth fabricated a four-engine speedster (Sno-King III) and once again set the NSSR Unlimited Class speed record for that season.

brilliant engineer who also understood the marketing possibility of fast snowmobiles, Groth’s was rightfully lauded for securing the highly-visible Budweiser sponsorship that lasted for a full decade. Yet it was his ingenious engineering and fabrication of highly-specialized, furiously-fast snowmobiles – and his role in creating the second “Golden Age” of speed runs – that are Groth’s greatest accomplishments.

For more than 30 years snowmobile racers and trail riders have enjoyed greater personal safety thanks to Ken Konop, inventor of the Saf-Jac protective vest and safety advocate. Combining an impact-dispersing plastic outer shield with padded fabric underneath, the Saf-Jac was the first snowmobile safety product of its kind that protected the racer’s torso. Introduced in 1975 during the first heyday of snowmobile race participation, the Saf-Jac has prevented countless serious injuries to thousands of thankful racers and riders, with an exemplary legacy of quality and safety.

Konop’s racing career spanned 1966 to 1978, mostly in USSA’s Central Division, having qualified for the World Series of Ovals for eight consecutive years, including a 1971 win in Booneville, N.Y. But it was the accidental death of his wife, Jacque, at a snowmobile race in 1974 that inspired Konop’s greatest contribution to snowmobile racing history.

Just months after Jacque’s death, Konop developed, marketed and sold the first chest- and back-protecting safety vests. Named in honor of Jacque, the Saf-Jacs set a new standard for personal safety and helped shape safe equipment requirements for all racers. More than 13,000 Saf-Jac protection vests have been sold throughout the world, averting untold injury to as many racers and riders for more than three decades. After retiring from 30 years as a high school teacher, Konop of Brillion, Wis., continues to lend his expertise and help as an official in the USSA circuit.